


Pulling the Thread

by Ononymous



Series: Undertale Anniversary Requests 2020 [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Meta, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27283186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: Going to a big party with steak? Discovering an unnerving truth about your world? Tough choice!
Series: Undertale Anniversary Requests 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924747
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Pulling the Thread

"Ahhh..."

Doggo lowered his leg and walked away from the tree. And almost into another one before he took a sniff and realised it was there.

"Darn it, of all the stupid... I should have worn my glasses."

His ears swivelled in the direction of the revelry still going on beyond the far end of the woods. It was a good time for everyone, all told, but a dog still had his needs. There was no room to just have a good run, not without knocking something over and getting called a bad boy for his troubles. And so many trees nearby he'd have gotten a weird look from Undyne for hanging around. He needed his space. Even if it was among trees he could barely make out except through his nose. Still, he'd gotten a good run before his pit stop, and there was talk of steak back at the party. Barrier Day was a good excuse for steak. Maybe stop for a quick one, though? Sure, why not. He pulled out a carton from his pocket, took a dog biscuit from it and put it in his mouth.

"Where's my lighter? I swear, if I've gone and dropped it again..."

"Arf!"

Doggo's ears abruptly changed direction, away from the unseen party and towards the path that led into town. He wanted to ignore it, to think only of steak, but a second "Arf!" overwhelmed his sense of curiosity. The unlit biscuit still in mouth he picked his way through the trees, sniffing carefully to avoid any further near-misses.

"Hullo? Uh, anybody there?" No answer. "Ugh, waste of time..."

His nose disagreed suddenly. It was like opening an airtight pack of bacon for the first time, the scent's appearance was so sudden. And it was coming from... A white blob heading towards town.

"Hey there!" The blob froze. "Royal Guard, state your business!"

Doggo approached the unmoving figure, barely as tall as his knees. Features became apparent as his angled approach produced the illusion of movement. Perk triangular ears, a small tail, four legs, beady eyes...

"Arf?" And an annoying voice.

"Oh, it's you. Seen you around."

The small white dog started running around Doggo, eventually planting his front legs onto the back of Doggo's trousers, sniffing his back pockets.

"Yeah yeah, 'Greetings and Salutations' back at you. I'd return the favour, but I've got a bad back."

The dog disembarked and scampered back in front of him. "Whine..."

"Well thanks for your sympathy. Hey, you got a light?" The dog shook his head. "Eh. You looking for the party? I hear steak is coming."

He could literally hear it, the sizzle of magical fire carried far for ears like his. And although the dog's ears also turned in that direction, he made no sign of sniffing hopefully, or even running off in the direction of the party. Instead he resumed his untroubled trot towards town.

"Hey, where you going? The yummy is _that_ way!"

The annoying dog ignored him. A dog ignoring steak? The last time Doggo had seen that happen, the poor thing had fallen down a week later. Something was wrong.

"You okay, boy? You want me to go find Doctor Drughghagahghaghgaaaaaahhhh..."

The curious dog's scent was overwhelmed by meaty nirvana, and in response Doggo's tongue precluded any intelligible speech. The King was cooking this one, there was no doubt in his nostrils. He had more practice grilling for dogs than anyone else, he knew how to let the scent waft in the air. He ignored the pain in his back to turn around sharply in the direction of the party. But his sense of duty arrested his progress after three steps. Ignoring a strange and possibly dangerous situation for mere food? Only bad dogs did that, and Doggo was nothing if not a good boy. With a great effort he recalled his tongue and returned to watching the dog scamper down the road.

"Grrrrrrr..." His teeth were bared. "This better be worth it..."

The decision to do the right thing grew easier as he put more distance from the party and the smells grew fainter on the wind. The annoying dog ceased paying him any mind, continuing his stroll at a leisurely pace, occasionally chasing a butterfly or sniffing a tree. He also ignored all calls by Doggo to come back. It so perplexed him that he toyed with trying to grab a stick to get the dog's attention, but as soon as he picked it up he stuffed it in his own mouth and wouldn't let go. They had reached the outskirts of town by the time Doggo found the willpower to let go, and that just involved opening his mouth. Throwing it away was impossible.

"Pleh," he spat. "So revolting, and so satisfying. Now where did he go...?"

The sound of a nearby door closing gave him his answer. A rundown looking kennel half-hidden behind the town's Welcome Sign. There was no family name name or street number on it, just a small picture of a bone. Doggo bent over, ignoring the twinge in his back, and knocked. There was no answer.

"Hellooooo?" he called, to no result. "You okay in there, pal? Should I call someone?"

Ears flat against his skull and tail limp in frustration, he furiously knocked again, but this time the door swung open of its own accord. No opposable thumbs make locking a door rather difficult. Too invested to even contemplate the steak back at the party, Doggo winced against the pain of his back as he got to all fours and trotted in much like his quarry would have. But he didn't have to stay on all fours for long.

"What the..."

Monsters had long mastered the art of cramming more space in nooks and crannies humans could never have managed, so finding a house behaving like this wasn't completely out of the blue. The disparity in decoration was more of a surprise, something Doggo absorbed as he forced himself back to his hindlegs. The brown walls were twice as tall as he was standing, giving plenty of room for a tacky chandelier to take up most of the vertical space. The gilded luxury was matched by an ornate black and white checkered floor. He realised the brown walls were in fact oaken panel, and sophisticated violin music could be heard in the distance. White Corinthian columns lined one wall of the chamber, each topped with marble busts of King Asgore, the annoying dog himself, a bone, a stick, a tennis ball, and other sundries. And just to put the finishing touch on it, there was a stained mat and a chewed up dog basket with a squeaky bone and mangled teddy bear, next to a half-full bowl of dog food and some water. For what looked like a disheveled kennel on the outside, this guy had impeccable taste in decor. Speaking of...

"Ah, there you are."

The dog was in the corner of the room, laying in front of a monitor, a keyboard with only two buttons, one red, one green, resting beneath his paws, occasionally pressing one or both. Doggo walked up to him.

"I said, there you are!"

Ears flattened sharply against his head, and the small tail retreated betwixt his legs, the annoying dog looked up at his interrogator. "Arf!" came his dissonently cheerful reply.

"So what's this you're working on...?"

Doggo watched the screen. A low-resolution picture of what might have been someone on a patch of ice covered it complete. The dog pressed one of his buttons, and the blue and purple-clad figure walked to the right.

"...I recognise that shirt. The human wore it. And that log, Dogamy liked to sniff it... hey, this is Snowdin Forest!"

"Woof!" There was no reason to deny it.

Curious, Doggo looked around the stately chamber, and saw an even fancier oaken book case beyond the columns. The top two rows were full of classics, human and monster, that had never been touched. The botton two rows were filled with chewable books for toddlers, well chewed. The middle rows had a more modern collection, books about music and graphics software and game design. There was only the occasional bite mark on these.

"So that's your game. Our game. You're making a game about what happened to us!"

The dog's tail wagged, but the accompanying whining hinted at something missing. Satisfied at his own deduction however, Doggo continued to watch the game unfold.

"Oh, I know that stand, that's where I stood guard! Oh, that's me!" He sniffed critically. "I don't think my nose is that big, but when you're going low-resolution, I guess there's limits..." The screen turned black and white as a battle commenced. "Ah, I remember this. The human was sneaky, got past my fastest attacks, and before I could yell 'son of a-' they booped my snoot. Some of the finest pats I ever- No, no, don't choose the stick, I'm telling you, they-"

But this time, they didn't. Rather than the rigmarole of enduring DigiDoggo's attacks, the DigiHuman just threw their stick, and the battle was over.

"...well yeah, that'd probably have worked too. You sure know our weaknesses, boy. Got us down pat."

"Arf!"

"Oh hey, is this your box cover?"

Doggo picked up the black box with a large red heart on it, vaguely aware the annoying dog had stopped playtesting the game. It was a nice cover, very minimalist, and beneath the title, in the corner... wait a minute...

"'Copyright, 201X'? But that was decades ago."

"Woof?"

"Yeah, you made a mistake, the year is..." The fur on Doggo's neck stood on end, and he had to suppress a growl.. "Hang on. Is this really your own game? Or are you just trying to pass it off as yours?"

"Awoo!"

Doggo eyed his hindquarters. "Your tail tells a different story, bucko. This game... tells what happened to us? But years ago? How is that possible? Is it a prophecy?" The dog shook his head. "But it doesn't make sense, it's like a made up story..." Doggo's own tail found refuge between his legs as his eyes widened in fear. "Are... are we just made-"

" **Bark.** "

'Bark' was not the onomatopoeic representation of a form of canine communication. It was the English word 'Bark'. Upon hearing it, Doggo became immensely drowsy, curled up on the floor and fell asleep, all worry gone from his face. Free to act, the dog pulled out a phone from under the keyboard with his teeth, clumsily composing a message with his nose before sending it out. Then the two buttons on the keyboard were subject to merciless mashing as the contents of the monitor changed. Then pulling a tasselled rope, the shelf with the books on game design retreated into a hidden recess in the wall, to be swapped out for more chew toys. Then the dog chased his tail for ten minutes. Failing to catch it, he trotted over to Doggo and snuffled in one ear, then the other. He moved back to the computer at first, but stopped and returned to Doggo's sleeping form, where his paws pressed down on the small of Doggo's back. Sniffing once or twice to satisfy everything was fine, he returned to the computer.

" **Bark.** "

"zzz- _snrt_ \- huh?" Sitting up, Doggo tried to collect himself. "Sorry, must've f'll'n asleep. Hey, my back feels a lot better! That's a relief, it's been bugging me for weeks. So what was it you were doing...?" Doggo looked over to the annoying dog as he controlled a game on the computer. Four children were in a valley surrounded by strange springy creatures. "Oh, I think I hearda this one! Are you speedrunning it?" The dog shook his head. "Okay. Think I'll watch anyway."

And he sat on, watching an unwitting seed that would lead to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Original Suggestion: Undertales gathering up and celebrating 5 years on the surface? Bonus points: they find out about the existence of this forgotten little game from decades and decades ago called Undertale
> 
> Pastebin version: https://pastebin.com/q6aW4JE9
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
